Sufficient and Profitable (33)

(This begins the third major section in this series. If you need a reorientation, please review the general outline.)

3. UTILITY

The utility of Scripture cannot be separated from its sufficiency. As we will see, the Scripture is useful because it is inspired and sufficient, and it is sufficient because it is inspired. By the utility of Scripture, we have in mind the fact of Scripture's usefulness as well as the ways that it is used and applied. We have in mind the question of how this sufficient book becomes efficient in our lives and ministries.

To this question, Paul writes, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16). In context, Paul is telling Timothy that the Scripture is able to see him through the "terrible times" and is "useful" to fully equip him for ministry. Of course, the inspiration of Scripture is not a new teaching to Timothy, but Paul mentions it here to explicitly base the usefulness of Scripture on its inspiration and authority. We will consider why he does this and what this means in a moment.

The word translated "useful" here means "useful," "profitable," "beneficial," "advantageous," and so forth. It also appears in 1 Timothy 4:8 and Titus 3:8, and is consistently translated "profitable" in the KJV and NASB. In 1 Timothy, it refers to the enduring and far-reaching "value" of godliness, "holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." In Titus, it seems that the word refers to holy character, sound doctrine, and "doing what is good," with Paul saying that "These things are excellent and profitable for everyone." There are no interpretive problems with this word in 2 Timothy. Precisely what "useful" or "profitable" means here is defined by the context.

(to be continued)